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How to say “something” in Chinese with 什么

Question word in the position of an indefinite Obj. / Place / Time

Expressing "someone/something/somewhere/sometime" with question words

HSK 3Basic/Simple Sentence Patterns

Rule structure

Question words such as 谁 (shéi), 什么 (shénme), 哪儿 (nǎ ér) (nǎr), and 什么时候 (shénme shíhou) can be used not as questions, but as indefinite words meaning "someone," "something," "somewhere," or "sometime." The meaning is determined by sentence context.

Examples

我饿了，想吃点什么。

Wǒ è le, xiǎng chī diǎn shénme.

I'm hungry, I want to eat something.

Practice

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Frequently asked questions

How do you express “Expressing "someone/something/somewhere/sometime" with question words” in Chinese?

Use the structure: Question word in the position of an indefinite object / place / time. For example: 我饿了，想吃点什么。 — “I'm hungry, I want to eat something.”.

What is an example sentence with this grammar rule?

我饿了，想吃点什么。 — “I'm hungry, I want to eat something.”.

Which HSK level includes this grammar rule?

This grammar rule is part of HSK 3.

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More HSK 3 grammar rules

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Expressing purpose with "为了 (wèile)"

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越来越 (yuè lái yuè) + Adj.

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Expressing "if… then…" with "如果 (rúguǒ) … 就 (jiù) …"

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